Joshua Ferris, Howard Jacobson and Richard Flanagan make Man Booker Prize shortlist

The shortlist for the 2014 Man Booker Prize was announced on Tuesday and featured three British writers, an Australian and two Americans.

With the rule change allowing for inclusion of authors from outside the Commonwealth, Joshua Ferris and Karen Joy Fowler became the first to ever make the shortlist. Howard Jacobson, who is a vocal critic of the change, also made the shortlist, as did Neel Mukherhee, Ali Smith and Richard Flanagan, The Telegraph reports.

Jacobson, who is a previous recipient of the prize, has called the rule change the "wrong decision," echoing how many feel it makes it unfair for Brits. The judges say there is no "tokenism" and the resulting 2014 shortlist should prove that to those railing against the change.

"There was no question in our minds about any kind of tokenism, whether geographical, gender-wise, ethnic of anything else," AC Grayling, chairman of judges, said. "We just chose books that struck us as the best. Those factors didn't play any part at all in the selection."

Ferris' To Rise Again at a Decent Hour and Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves are the first books chosen from outside the Commonwealth, notes USA Today. Australian author Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North made the list as did favorite Jacobson's J, Mukherjee's The Lives of Others and Smith's How to be Both.

The Man Booker Prize winner will be announced on Oct. 14 at London's Guildhall and the winner receives $85,000.